1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a shorting terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-217764 and FIG. 10 herein disclose a connector with a shorting terminal. With reference to FIG. 10, the connector has a male housing 1 with a terminal accommodating portion 2 and a receptacle 3 that projects forward from the terminal accommodating portion 2. Male terminal fittings 4 are inserted into cavities 5 that penetrate the terminal-accommodating portion 2 along forward and backward directions. A shorting-terminal accommodating chamber 6 is formed above the cavities 5 and is open in the back end surface of the receptacle 3. A shorting terminal 7 is mounted in the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 6 and is held resiliently in contact with the male terminal fittings 4 to short adjacent male terminal fittings 4 before the male housing 1 is connected to a female housing. On the other hand, the female housing has a canceling portion that engages the shorting terminal 7 and cancels the shorting state with the male terminal fittings 4 as the male and female housings are connected.
The shorting terminal 7 is inserted into the shorting-terminal accommodating chamber 6 from the front of the receptacle 3. The upper surface of the shorting-terminal accommodating chamber 6 has a locking projection 8 that engages a locking hole 9 in the shorting terminal 7 to prevent forward displacement of the shorting terminal 7.
The locking projection 8 has a slanted front surface 8A that reduces the inserting resistance of the shorting terminal 7 into the shorting terminal accommodating chamber 6. Thus, backward displacements of the shorting terminal 7 cannot be prevented as well as forward displacements. Further, the locking projection 8 is formed by molds that are removed via front and rear mold-removal holes 6A. The positions and the number of the locking projections 8 are restricted by the structural requirements of the mold removal holes 6A, and several locking projections 8 at front and rear positions often are structurally unfeasible. As a result, the shorting terminal 7 cannot be held in the male housing 1 with a sufficient force, and there is a danger that the shorting terminal 7 will displace or unlock when engaged by the male terminal fittings 4 or the canceling portion.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problems and an object thereof is to securely hold a shorting terminal.